


hold your breath and count to ten

by silverlandings



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Partners to friends to lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:40:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24707728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverlandings/pseuds/silverlandings
Summary: In which private investigator Jess Mariano finds an unexpected partnership in local reporter Rory Gilmore when working a missing persons case.
Relationships: Rory Gilmore/Jess Mariano
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	hold your breath and count to ten

**Author's Note:**

> NOTES/WARNINGS: this work will include depictions of violence, mature language and sexual content.  
> it is set in the summer of 2012, so rory and jess are both around 27 when the story starts out. 
> 
> DISCLAIMER: the title is taken from the song "Skyfall" by Adele. i (unfortunately) do not own any of these characters except for the OCs i chose to include.
> 
> OTHER NOTES: i am very excited to be writing this fic! this is an idea i've had for over a year and now that it is finally coming together, i couldn't wait to share it with you all. also would like to thank my amazing friend @alexisbldels for betaing this for me and for helping me out with the development of this story. hope you all enjoy it and let me know what you think!! happy reading, see you in the next one <3

The street lights flicker as thunder crashes outside. It’s the first storm of the season, a relief from the unbearable summer heat. A window on the second floor catches Logan’s eye -- it’s one of the few where the lights are still on, and there is the symbol of a magnifying glass displayed on it, with _Russo Investigations_ written underneath.

Logan steps out of his car and looks up at the old building in front of him. He checks the address on his phone to see if he has the right place, then goes in. The entrance is mostly empty, except for the nearly bald man in a security guard uniform sitting at some sort of makeshift front desk, watching a baseball game on a tiny TV set. He nods at Logan to acknowledge his presence and then turns his attention back to the television. 

He gets on the elevator then presses the button with the fading number two on it. The metallic doors slide open and he hops out, being faced immediately with an office that has the name of Russo Investigations written on the copper sign next to the half open, multicolored glass door. 

Logan pushes through the door and a small bell rings above his head. The place is small, with a couple of cushioned chairs serving as a waiting room and a reception desk that is currently left unattended. There are also tacky, diner-like neon signs on the walls — all of which are turned off — and a few pictures. All in all, it is pretty much what Logan would’ve imagined a P.I. agency to look like. 

Since there’s no one at the reception, Logan takes it upon himself to knock on the office door next to it before walking in. Inside, a man sits behind a large wooden desk, distractedly looking through files on a manila folder. He looks around his age, maybe younger, with dark hair and slightly untamed curls, combed up from his forehead. His eyes are of a light brown and look even lighter when hit by the light coming from the lamp next to him.

On top of the desk, there is a nameplate, one that reads Jess Mariano in capital letters and private investigator written under it in a smaller font.

“Excuse me,” Logan calls, making Jess look up from the folder in his hands. “I’m looking for… Russo? I got this address from a buddy of mine and I thought I had the right place but—”

“You have the right place.” His expression then turns slightly somber. “Russo just isn’t around anymore. He died a few months ago. Brain tumor.”

“Oh, sorry to hear that,” the blond replies as he runs a hand over his chin. _Of course the guy is dead_ , he scoffs mentally to himself. Just his luck. 

Jess gives him a slight nod in turn. “It’s okay. Happens a lot.” He responds.

“Yeah.” Logan shakes his head. “I shouldn’t have come here. I remembered, as a kid, hearing my father say that this Russo guy could find anyone, so I just thought…” 

“Who are you looking for?” 

He freezes for a moment. His mind goes back to that night, and Logan can hear the sirens wailing in the distance so clearly, along with his mother’s anguished screams. Red and blue lights flashing before his eyes while the officers surrounded the house with police tape. 

Logan then blinks as though he has just snapped out of a trance. “My sister. She went missing a week ago.” 

“You’re Logan Huntzberger.” Jess suddenly realizes as he leans back in his chair. “Huh, I thought you looked familiar. I assumed the police would be all over your sister’s disappearance, but that’s not the case, is it?”

“Not really, anyway,” he replies, “The department is banking on the attention the case has been getting, so the longer they drag out the so-called investigation, the better for them. That whole place…” 

“Is run by dirty cops?” Jess guesses, unsurprised, and Logan nods in response.

“Basically, yeah. And it starts at the top, too. The chief of police, Chief Vaughn? He’s as dirty as it gets. But since he has people in high places eating out of his hand, he gets to stay in charge.” 

“Something did seem off about that guy when I saw him on the news the other day,” Jess says, running a hand over his chin. “And what have they told your family about the investigation — or lack thereof?” 

“Not much,” Logan responds. “They think that Eve might’ve just run off somewhere, but I know my sister. She wouldn’t do that.” 

“Walk me through what happened that night. Anything you might remember can help.” 

“It was Eve’s birthday,” he begins, “My mother organized this big shindig and everyone who’s anyone was there. I talked to Eve briefly and she mentioned a headache, so I told her maybe she should go lie down in her old room for a bit.” Logan’s eyes don’t quite meet Jess’, seeming miles away. “she insisted she was fine, but gave in eventually. Then, before we could cut the cake, we heard yelling coming from upstairs, and when we got there, my mother was standing inside my sister’s room, sobbing, and Eve was gone.” His voice trembles. “We looked everywhere twice, tried her cell, but nothing. And that was when we called the cops.” 

“Do you know anyone who might’ve had a reason to try to hurt your sister?” Jess asks, leaning forward in his chair as he studies the look on Logan’s face.

Vincent’s message in his voicemail is the first thing that comes to mind. _Logan, can you please tell your sister to fucking call me back? I need to see her. Please, man. Talk to her._ He pleaded, but his voice was unsettled, angry. Logan didn’t return the call and sent him a text instead, one that read: “ _Stay away from Eve and fuck off,”_ which might’ve only added to Vince’s anger, but at the time, Logan didn’t think he could get angry enough to want to hurt his sister.

“Her boyfriend, Vincent Harris,” Logan all but scoffs. “They broke up a few days before the party and he didn’t take it well. At all.” He then reaches for his phone in his pocket, and plays the message he kept saved, just in case. Except Logan never thought _this_ would be the case.

“Sounds like motive to me,” Jess supplies as he wheels his chair further towards the desk, straightening up his posture. “Look, I won’t promise that I will find your sister or tell you that I am nearly as good as Russo, but I’m willing to try and do my best, if you’ll have me.”

Not much thought goes into Logan’s decision. He’s desperate, and there is a clock constantly ticking over his head, making him wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, terrified that something terrible has happened to his baby sister — and he couldn’t do anything to stop it. 

Logan extends a hand for Jess to shake. “You’re hired” 

**A couple of days later…**

Jess gets out of his car and walks up the street, heading towards the Huntzberger's home. Logan let him come to look around while he and his family were at a press conference and let the staff know so he could work in peace. There are two squad cars parked nearby, and police tape still surrounding the house. Jess arrives at the front gate and presses the button on the intercom. He holds up his ID to the security camera, along with his business card, and is immediately buzzed in. 

The Huntzberger estate is impressive, to say the least. The house, an imponent neo-Palladian mansion, sits idle under the chastising sun. Jess makes his way through the garden, filled with full-blown peonies, in various hues and life-size, marble statues of Roman gods only add to the neoclassical aesthetic of the estate. 

Jess can’t help but find every aspect of that place incredibly pretentious, so much that he nearly gags as he scans the space, before turning to knock on the tall, red door. 

It isn’t a home (if there is such a thing), but a statement, something meant to be seen, admired, envied, much like everything else in the Huntzberger’s lives. He wouldn’t blame Eve for wanting an out if that happened to be the case.

One of the maids lets him inside and then quickly disappears into the depths of the house. Jess looks around the foyer and then the living room, both of an almost clinical cleanliness. 

There are many family pictures on the walls, the only proof that the house is, in fact, inhabited. Family vacations, weddings and a particular one that catches his eye, one of Eve’s graduation from Yale. 

Jess notices that there aren’t any pictures of Logan or his older sister’s Honor graduations anywhere, meaning Logan wasn’t exaggerating when he said Eve has always been his parents’ sole joy and pride.

He walks up the stairs and finds himself in a hallway of identical doors, all closed, except one in the far end, where the door was left ajar. There is a line of police tape blocking the way into the room, one that Jess lifts over his head so he can go in. 

The bedroom is exceptionally girly, decorated in different shades of pink. There are no signs of struggle anywhere and the bed doesn’t look like it has been slept in, the ruffled bedspread untouched. The glass door to the small balcony was left open, but since it directly faces the pool, there is no chance someone could’ve used it to escape the house without being seen. It’s another dead-end.

On top of the dresser, there are white and blue pom poms, and a picture of Eve from her high school days, wearing a cheerleader uniform with those same colors and St. Anne’s Preparatory School written across her chest. 

Jess also finds a picture of her and a guy he recognizes as Vincent, from around that same time. They’re standing in front of a brand-new boat, named _The Siren_. There is nothing particularly unsettling about Vince — except maybe his choice of clothes, that made him look like the villain in an 80s movie, cardigan draped over a polo shirt and all. 

Vincent has a lazy, boyish smile, one that would have anyone fooled. And maybe that’s what would let him get away with anything.

He takes the picture with him, putting it in his back pocket, before he can go back downstairs to look for more clues. Jess comes up empty, though, and decides to leave, before he ends up getting lost inside the mansion.

Jess thanks the maid — a new one, not the one who let him inside — and heads out. The gates automatically open and he walks back to his car. As he nears the Chevelle, he looks back at the Huntzberger estate with a sigh. What actually happened that night remains a mystery, one he’s promised himself he will solve -- whatever it takes. 

**A week and a half later…**

Back in his office, Jess goes behind two large filing cabinets and wheels out his evidence board, with pictures of potential suspects and yarn strings attached to it, still leading nowhere. His eyes dart over at the smiling picture of Eve Huntzberger, who has now been missing for about three weeks.

Logan had come in looking for Russo about a week before, prior to finding out that the man who was known for being able to find anyone anywhere had died a few months back. Jess promised he would do his best to find his sister, and he has, but his hope is starting to wear off, considering he has practically no case, and only one weak theory, that has yet to be established by evidence that isn’t circumstantial. 

His only suspect so far is Eve’s on and off again boyfriend, Vincent Harris. He unpins Vincent’s photo from the board, just to stare at his face, hoping that maybe something, anything would click, but no such luck. Jess puts the picture back and looks over at the photo of Vincent and Eve together, in front of the yacht named _The Siren_ , the one that happens to belong to Vince.

It’s a long shot, but it’s also the only one he has. 

Jess puts the board back and walks to his desk, leaning up against it with his arms crossed over his chest as he stares at his mentor’s name written on the door’s window. He still hasn’t had it in him to have it replaced, and probably never will. This is _Russo_ ’s office, _his_ legacy. And Jess owes it to him not to screw things up.

**The next day…**

Waves crash in the distance and the moonlight reflects in the water. A light breeze whirls past, bringing in the smell of the ocean, but doesn’t blow out the candles people hold up in their hands. The light illuminates the beach, along with the torches that are placed all around.

Jess scans the crowd, doing what he does best: observing, seeing what others would look right past, looking for something that might find him a lead. Any lead. But, so far, nothing seems out of the ordinary. 

His attention is drawn to the stage when someone taps the mic. Logan clears his throat, standing uneasily before the sea of both familiar and unfamiliar faces. His eyes meet someone’s in the crowd, and Jess follows his gaze till it lands on a brown-haired woman with bright blue eyes, who gives Logan a reassuring nod, prompting him to continue. 

“Hey, everyone,” Logan begins, “thank you all so much for coming. As you know, this vigil is dedicated to my younger sister, Eve, who’s been missing for about a month now.”

The others murmur solemnly in response. “Um, I’m not religious— not really, anyway. But if you could keep our family in your thoughts and prayers, and hope for Eve’s safe return, that would mean a lot. Thank you, again.”

Logan hands the microphone to his other sister, Honor, who seems to be doing her best to keep her composure. “Now, let’s have a moment of silence, hoping that wherever Eve is, that she is safe, and that we’ll be together again soon. Eves, if you’re listening…” She swallows, then wipes away a tear before it escapes her eye. “Please, come home.”

Everyone then falls silent, and the only thing you can hear is the sound of the ocean. Jess looks to his side and his eyes meet the same bright blue pair from before. The woman stares at him for an instant, almost as if she, somehow, knows who he is. Or maybe he’s just paranoid. 

The moment of silence ends, and people start to move towards the family to offer their support. Mrs. Huntzberger suddenly has to step away, sobbing inconsolably as she goes inside. Logan follows her into the building and lets his sister and his father handle the press. 

“Beautiful service, right?” A voice says, startling Jess a little. He turns to find the brunette he caught looking over at him earlier standing right next to him. 

“Uh-huh,” Jess hums uninterestedly, refusing to take his attention away from Honor and Mitchum while they field the questions from a horde of overeager reporters. 

“I know who you are,” she says without facing him, looking in that same direction. “Logan told me. About hiring you.”

His jaw stiffens. “He did, huh?”

“Yeah,” the woman confirms. “And I want to help you. With the case.”

That forces Jess to turn to her, incredulous. “What?” 

“You don’t know these people,” she tells him, nodding at where some of the friends of the family are gathered. “I do. Plus, I think you need every advantage you can get, you know, being in unknown territory and all.”

He scoffs in response. “I don’t even know who you are. How am I supposed to believe you’ll be an asset to me, and not a liability?” 

“I guess you would just have to take my word for it.” The brunette shrugs, then extends a hand for him to shake. “I’m Rory. Rory Gilmore.” 

Jess reluctantly shakes her hand, then puts on a small smirk. “Well, Rory, sorry to crush your _Veronica Mars_ fantasy, but I work alone.” He tells her. “Thanks for the offer, though.” 

He blows out his candle and hands it to her before walking away. Jess doesn’t turn around, but he can still feel her glaring at his retreating form. 

As he’s about to get into his car to leave, Logan catches up to him. “Jess!” He calls, a little out of breath. “You’re leaving?” 

Jess stops, resting an arm over the car door. “Couldn’t find anything,” he half-explains. “Plus, I was under the impression your friend would quickly become a pain in my ass.” 

Logan draws his eyebrows together, confused. “Friend?” He frowns, then a look of realization dawns on him. “Oh, Rory. She talked to you?” 

“Just keep her out of my way, will ya?” Jess says in response. “Have a good night, Logan. I’ll let you know when I have anything.” 

“Okay.” The blond nods, shoving his hands into the pockets of his sports coat. “Goodnight.” 

Jess bows his head and gets into the car, putting it in reverse so he can drive off. He returns to the Motel 6 he’s been staying at, double checking to see if no one followed him there from the vigil. Can’t be too careful. 

The walls in the bedroom are of an offset white and there are odd colored stains in the ceiling. There’s not much space or comfort, but he makes do. Although, deep down, Jess knows he could do hell of a lot worse than that. 

He shrugs off his jacket and hangs it behind the door. Jess then reaches under the bed and grabs the bulletin board he’s hidden there. He puts it up on the wall, and shakes his head as he carefully inspects it, trying to think of something he might’ve missed, but comes up with nothing.

Jess puts the board back and lies down on the bed. There’s not a chance he’ll get anything resembling good night’s sleep, but he better get _some_ rest if he’s going to get creative tomorrow. 

*

It’s late in the afternoon when he gets to the Hartford police department and slips unnoticed into the brick-built building, greeting the officer by the door with a slight nod. He walks up to the front desk and clears his throat to get the young receptionist’s attention. “How can I help you, sir?” She asks, flashing him a warm smile. 

“I’d like to speak with the Chief. Would that be possible?” He rests his arms on top of the tall desk, smirking back at her. 

The blonde arches her finely curated brows. “Do you have an appointment?” 

“No, but you see, this is a bit of an urgent matter.” Jess leans in closer, dropping his voice to a whisper, “I’m a federal agent, and it’s imperative that I talk to the chief about the… _Eve Huntzberger_ case.” He then flips his fake FBI badge open, and her green eyes go wide. 

“I’m sorry Agent, I- I didn’t know,” she stammers, taking the cordless phone from its nook. “I’ll just call his secretary to see if the Chief is in. It’ll only be a moment.”

Jess glances at her name tag. It reads _Caroline._ “The Bureau appreciates your cooperation,” he says to her gratefully and waits while she dials. 

“The Chief is in, Agent. His office is on the fourth floor.” Caroline informs him after ending the call with Vaughn’s secretary. “There is an elevator to your left, so you can go right on up.” 

“Thank you very much.” Jess nods at her and Caroline grins, bowing her head a little. 

He walks over to the elevator and presses the button with the number four in it. Jess feels exhilarated by just how easy it was to get in, although he knows fooling the chief won’t be as easy as it was to fool the impressionable twenty-year-old at the front desk.

The doors slide open and Jess gets off, immediately heading towards the Chief’s secretary’s desk. _Glenda_ is a middle aged, dark haired woman, with black pointy glasses. “Hello there, I’m here to see the Chief. Agent Caulfield, Caroline sent me up. He holds up the FBI badge, but Glenda doesn’t seem nearly as impressed as Caroline was. 

“Agent Caulfield, is it?” She checks, cocking an eyebrow at him.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Just a second, Agent,” Glenda drones, pressing the intercom button. “Sir, there is an Agent Caulfield from the FBI here to see you. Should I send him in?” A static noise comes through, then Chief Vaughn’s deep voice booms through the speaker.

“Agent Caulfield? I’m not expecting anyone with that name.”

“This was a last-minute trip, sir. My superiors say it’s urgent. It’s regarding the Eve Huntzberger case?” Jess says into the intercom, hoping it would be convincing enough to trick Vaughn. 

“Did you get that, sir?” The secretary asks when there is no response.

“Yes, Glenda. Please send Agent Caulfield in.” The Chief replies, and Jess notices a change in his tone. It’s quieter, almost…somber. Not as authoritative. 

“Go on, Agent. First door to your left.” Glenda indicates and Jess thanks her, walking over to the office. 

He knocks twice and pushes through the door. Jess finds the chief sitting behind a large desk, looking through some papers. Vaughn is in his fifties, with a buzz cut, piercing blue eyes and a clean-shaven face. 

“Hello there, Agent,” Vaughn greets him, looking up from the stack of papers on his desk. His tone is pleasant, but it sounds awfully forced. 

“Chief.” Jess bows his head and then motions at one of the cushioned chairs in front of his desk. “May I?” 

“Please, make yourself comfortable.” Again, almost _too_ pleasant. “Agent Caulfield, is it?”

“Yeah.” He nods, settling into the chair. “I was hoping to talk to you about—”

“The Eve Huntzberger case. I didn’t know the feds were getting involved in that.” Vaughn frowns as he takes off his reading glasses, setting them on the table. “I thought I would at least get the courtesy of being notified of that.”

He’s trying to rattle him, Jess knows that, but thankfully, he’s always been good at thinking on his feet. “That’s what I’m doing here. My superiors thought that it would be best if that news were delivered in person.”

The chief nods but doesn’t seem convinced in the slightest. “I appreciate that. Now, before we continue, I have one last question. My cousin, Martin, does training at Quantico, so I was just wondering if you’ve met him. I haven’t seen him a while.”

“Martin?” He scratches his chin, pretending to mull over the question. “No, I don’t think so. Or if I did, I really don’t remember. Sorry.”

“So you’re a federal agent and you’ve never met Martin Vaughn, the guy who chooses who gets into the bureau?” Vaughn lets out a dry chuckle, his expression unchanged. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re no FBI agent.”

Before Jess can even protest, he presses a single button on the intercom, and a pair of officers storm into the room. “Book him,” The chief orders “This guy thought he could get away with impersonating a federal agent.”

“You have the right to remain silent—” One of the policemen starts before he can cuff Jess and take him into custody. 

“I know the drill, Officer Krupke,” he spits, his jaw tensing as he puts his hands behind his back.

“We’re obliged by law to do this—” Krupke tries to explain, but Jess cuts him off.

“It’s okay, I don’t think the chief has any problems with not doing things by the book.” Jess shoots Vaughn a pointed look and he glares at him in return. 

“Get him out of here, now,” the chief demands and his subordinates do as he asks. 

Jess is aware that he’s just put a target on his back, but this wasn’t for nothing. He knows now, more than ever, that there is a much bigger conspiracy inside this department than Logan or he could’ve imagined, and it all goes back to Vaughn. But if Jess has anything to do with it, he won’t stay in charge for long.

*

“Hey _Kerouac_ , you got bail,” one of the officers that brought him into custody the day before drawls as he unlocks the jail cell. He’s bald and has got a prominent beer gut, and for some reason, shares a striking resemblance with one of his mother’s former boyfriends, _Mitch_. Just thinking about the guy leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

Jess closes his book and walks out of the cell. Officer Krupke, as he had previously dubbed him, hands him a ziplock bag with his belongings, and Jess bids him a two-finger salute in response. He sorts through the items in the bag, and scoffs loudly when he finds his pack of cigarettes is missing. 

“Hey!” He yells after him, but the man doesn’t even turn around. “I had a closed pack here and— You took my lighter too?” 

“Pig,” Jess mutters under his breath as he goes down the stairs to the ground floor of the station. Much to his surprise, he finds Logan’s supposed friend, the same blue-eyed brunette from the vigil, whose name he can’t quite remember, waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. 

“Fancy meeting you here,” he says to her. “Waiting for your boyfriend to get bail?” 

“Yeah, maybe you’ve met him. He wears a bandana and has the tattoo of a flaming heart with Mom written over it on his upper arm. Name’s Vinny,” she retorts sharply, without taking a beat. Jess can’t help but appreciate her quick wit.

“You do realize stalking a private investigator isn’t the smartest idea, right?” He asks, with the slight raise of an eyebrow, before he walks right past her, heading towards the exit. The woman quickly catches up with him.

“You know, that’s not a very nice thing to say to the person who just bailed you out.” That makes him stop and turn to face her. 

“You bailed me out?” He checks, and the woman just nods. “Why?”

“Because, as I said last night at the vigil, I want to help. And before you say no again, I’ll ask you to reconsider, now that I have _this._ ” She reaches into the front pocket of her purse and holds up a small flash drive between her thumb and index finger. 

Jess frowns in response, before his eyes dart from the flash drive and meet hers. “What the hell is that?”

When two officers walk by, she bites her lower lip and then grabs him by the wrist, leading him through the street until they get to what Rory — he remembers her name now — considers a safe distance from the precinct. Jess doesn’t protest since he quickly picks up on the reason for that relocation.

“This flash drive happens to contain the files on Eve’s case,” she reveals, locking her gaze on him. “And I’m willing to give it to you, if, and only if you accept my offer for a partnership.”

He tries to keep a neutral expression, crossing his arms. “How did you manage to get that?” 

Rory half-shrugs. “Logan told me which precinct the detective on Eve’s case worked at, so I went in there, sobbing, saying that my beloved pet corgi Susan B. Anthony had been abducted and that I _needed_ Detective Stanton, and since I was a pretty girl in hysterics, they got him for me. Then, when he stepped out to the kitchen to get me a glass of water, I went into his computer and copied the files into this little flash drive.” A smug look appears on her face when she notices the bewildered one on Jess’. “Impressed?”

A small smile tugs on his lips. “Seems I _was_ too quick to judge you.”

She eases up a little, letting her shoulders sag. “So? What do you say?”

Jess really had to think it through. Letting a complete stranger into the investigation doesn’t seem like the wisest idea, but again, desperate times call for desperate measures, and these _are_ desperate times. The clock is ticking for him to find Eve. Weeks have passed and he has a little over nothing. Maybe with another point of view he will be able actually move forward with the case. Rory seems to be just as or even more stubborn than him, but he’s good at reading people, and he can tell that, for whatever reason, she really believes in solving this, so he decides to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it’s time for an extra set of hands on deck.

“Just the one question,” he says. “Why do you want to help me?”

Rory lets out a sigh as she pulls her hair away from her face. “I’ve known Logan for a really long time, and Eve, too, so I want to do this for them,” she tells him, then continues. “But it also has to do with the fact that I’ve played it safe my entire life, and I _need_ this, not as a cheap thrill, but to prove to myself that I can do more than just…sit around and hope for the best. Does that make sense?”

Jess nods. “Yeah, it does.”

“Plus,” Rory adds teasingly, “you need me.”

He doesn’t argue with that. “Maybe I do.” 

“Okay, so we should get going, then,” she says, tapping the hood of the car she had been leaning up against before she circles it to get into the driver’s seat. 

“This is your car?” Jess lifts a brow at her. “How confident were you that I was going to say yes?”

“It could go either way,” Rory explains. “If you said yes, I could drive you back so you could get your car and if you said no, I could make a dramatic exit by driving away.”

“You really thought this through, huh?” 

“I am nothing if not thorough,” she grins, then leans to get the door to the passenger seat open, “Now, get in. We have a case to work on.”

  
  
  
  



End file.
